The Micro-Nikkor
line has historically been one of Nikon's most critical successes in lens
designs. What started with the 55mm Micro-Nikkor back in 1979 grew into
a trio of acclaimed macro lenses in recent years: the 60mm f/2.8, 105mm
f/2.8, and 200mm f/4 Micro-Nikkor. At least one of those lenses tends
to be found in every pro's bag.

So when Nikon
announced the 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom Micro-Nikkor, a lot of eyebrows
were raised. How could a zoom, let alone one with a variable aperture,
manage to produce the kinds of close-up work we've come to expect from
the Micro-Nikkors?

Straight-forward
and robust design mark the 70-180mm Micro-Nikkor. Large focus and
zoom grips, the traditional Nikon flaked metal build, and a small,
rotating tripod collar mark are all featured. (The tripod foot is
actual smaller than it looks here--you're seeing my Kirk plate sticking
out from under the lens at the left.)

The
Basics

From
a specification standpoint, the 70-180mm Micro-Nikkor seems to have only
a few pluses to balance out what look to be a lot of minuses. First, the
focal length is a bit shy of what is usually expected in this range (why
isn't it 70-200 or 70-210? are common responses). Second, the aperture
is variable, and not particularly fast (f/4.5 at 70mm is pretty darn slow,
actually). But other things get noticed, too. For example, the maximum
magnification ratio is 1:1.33, not the 1:1 everyone has come to expect
from a Micro-Nikkor (and that's only at 180mm; at 70mm, it's 1:3.21).
Yes, the lens has ED glass (as do most recent Nikon telephotos) and yes,
the lens has a solid, rotating tripod collar. But those two benefits don't
seem to offset the deficits.

At
a little over 2 pounds, the lens isn't exactly on the Slimfast diet, but
the build is that of a professional Nikkor. Still, you don't expect the
heft of this lens from the specifications. After all, it takes 62mm screw-in
filters, which implies a smaller, lighter lens.

In
short, a lot of apparent design contradictions, many of which keep photographers
from looking more closely at this under-appreciated lens.

D100
at ISO 200 with the 70-180mm at 180mm from about two feet away,
f/6.3 at 1/350; taken at the September Pt. Reyes workshop. In the
past, I've struggled to get good pictures of small flowers. If I
tried to use the 60mm, the working distance was just too close (90.4mm,
or about 3.6 inches). If I used the 200mm, the working distance
was plentiful (260mm, or about 10.2" in front of the lens),
but sometimes it was just too much lens for the subject (here it
would have been fine; but when I moved over to a larger set of flowers,
it actually would have forced me to work too far from the subject
or switch lenses). What I find when using the 70-180mm is that I
have a little more flexibility over my camera/subject relationship,
and thus, a bit more control over how I light the subject (here,
I used a small reflector, which would have been difficult with the
short working distance of the 60mm). And check out the bokeh on
the out of focus leaves. Some lenses would take those out of focus
highlights and make hash of them--the 70-180mm renders them very
naturally and soft, with no harsh edges or observable patterns.

Other
things you need to know about the lens:

Focus
is performed through the screw-drive on the camera body. This is not
an AF-S lens, though focus is achieved quickly and held well, much more
so than the 80-400mm VR lens at the same focal lengths.

To help
improve focus speed, Nikon provides a focus limit switch. Two settings
are supported: full (focus from minimum to infinity) and limit,
which, depending upon where the lens was focused when you activated
it will provide normal (2.6 feet [0.8m] to infinity, or close
(1.25 [0.37m] to 2.6
feet
[0.8m]) limits.

The filter
size is Nikon's standard 62mm front thread.

The lens
hood is included. It's reverses onto the lens for storage, and is of
the bayonet type.

Handling

In
short, I like it. While the lens is a bit heavy for its size, it feels
comfortable on a camera. Since most of the time you'd be using this lens
on a tripod, the weight isn't really as much an issue as the "balance."
And Nikon got the balance perfect for the F100 and D100-sized bodies (on
small, light bodies, such as the N65, the combination will feel front
heavy, though).

The
tripod collar is old-school Nikon: close to the lens, and no give at all.
It's not removable, but it rotates securely and easily through 300 degrees.
Compared to the collar used on the 300mm f/4 AF-S and 80-400mm VR lenses,
the Micro-Nikkor's squat mount is more sturdy and less obtrusive.

The
lens doesn't extend during zooming, though the front does extend about
2 inches at extreme close up focus (the front ring doesn't rotate, though,
allowing convenient use of polarizers). Manual focus has a bit of a rough
feel on my sample, though it is well damped; finding and holding a focus
point manually is easily done. The AF/MF switch is the style I prefer,
with only the two choices, both of which lock and require the press of
a button to change. Going from one to the other is simply a matter of
finding the button (just behind the focus grip) and rotating the ring
that it's on while pressing it. Immediately behind (towards the camera)
AF/MF button is the focus limiting switch. Unfortunately, this control
isn't the design I prefer, having only two positions (Limit and
Full). When you move the switch from Full to Limit, the limit that is
set depends upon where you are focused. If you're below the 2.6 foot barrier,
you'll get the near limit, if you're above the 2.6 foot distance, you'll
get the far limit. If you're exactly on the 2.6 foot distance you sometimes
get nothing the first press. Why not just have three positions, Nikon?
(Just in case they need more of a hint: Near, Far, and Full.)

Like
most recent zoom Nikkors, we also don't get a DOF scale on the lens. Not
even a single aperture at a single focal length is marked. There is a
mark for infrared focus at 70mm, but that's it. One nice touch, however,
is that Nikon has marked the working distance in the focus scale. What's
working distance, you ask? Well, it's an important concept that captures
some new-to-macro shooters unaware: the distance from the front of the
lens to the subject. Working distance is important because, as it decreases
to inches, it gets more difficult to get light into the subject without
a ring flash. At extreme working distances with live critters, such as
insects, working too close can spook your subject. The working distance
of the 70-180mm remains constant at the different focal lengths and varies
only with focus point. At maximum magnification it's 4.7 inches (112mm),
which is a tad short in my opinion. The 200mm Micro-Nikkor has a working
distance of about 10 inches at 1:1 magnification, by comparison.

How sharp?
Above is a full image of a Hawaiian gecko shot at 180mm, f/7.1, 1/180
second. Below is detail at 100% (this is a screen capture, so it has a
bit of color shift and brightness boost). Sharp enough? I think so.

The
Micro-Nikkors Nikon makes
five Micro-Nikkors. The first three are all autofocus and designed with
Nikon's CRC ability, which makes them good choices for flat objects
(as in shooting paintings or books on a copy stand):

60mm
f/2.8D.
Suitable for very small subjects, especially if you have the SB-29
ring flash to get light to them.

105mm
f/2.8D. The
usual "compromise" macro, especially since it can double
as a decent portrait lens.

200mm
f/4D ED. The "wildlife" macro, as it's longer working
distance doesn't tend to spook insects and other small living things
you might want to photograph.

Two special
Micro-Nikkors exist, as well:

85mm
f/2.8D PC.
A great lens for product photoraphy, as it allows a fair degree of
perspective control (the PC in its name). This isn't an autofocus
lens, though, and you might struggle to get exposure locked down (exposure
has to be set before the shift).

70-180mm
f/4.5-5.6D ED. The subject of this review.

Older manual
focus Micro-Nikkors:

55mm
f/3.5 AI.
The original Nikon 1:1 macro (1966).

55mm
f/2.8 AI-S. Several
versions of this lens exist; the original was 1:2, while later versions
are 1:1

105mm
f/2.8 AI-S. Several
versions of this lens exist; the original was 1:2, while later versions
are 1:1.

105mm
f/4 AI-S. Several
versions of this lens exist; the original was 1:2, while later versions
are 1:1

UV
105mm f/4.5 AI-S. An
unusual lens that transmits 70% of light from 220 to 900 nanometers,
an extraordinary range (greater than we see).

Medical
120mm f/4 AI-S. Designed
for medical and dental close-up work, includes an integrated ring
light.

200mm
f/4 IF AI-S. Nikon
also marketed this lens with the TC-300 teleconverter, which made
for a reasonably sharp 400mm f/8 lens that went to 1:1!

Medical
2 00mm f/5.6. A remarkable lens that came with a set of supplement
lenses that took the magnification out to 3:1. Like the 120mm, it
has a built-in ring light.

Performance

A
macro lens should first and foremost be sharp at close distances. This
lens passes that test with flying colors (see right column). Macro work
at all focal lengths and apertures is tack sharp in the center, with
only a hint of softness wide open in the corners at longer focal lengths.
Indeed, the lens is so sharp that it's relatively easy to tell when
your aperture is so small that diffraction effects are occuring. At
apertures of f/22 and smaller, edges lose just a bit of their distinctness.
Above f/45 (yes, with the variable aperture at the closest focus point
you can get above f/45 with this lens), the diffraction effects are
noticeable enough for me to avoid those apertures.

Some
folk will be displeased by the fact that the lens can't reach 1:1 magnification
(on a 35mm body). I'm not. Just get a Nikon 5T or 6T close-up lens (or
a Kenko extension tube set) and you can take this lens beyond
1:1 with very good results. I was particularly impressed with the results
with the 5T, though holding any depth of field at these focal lengths
with greater than 1:1 magnification takes Herculean efforts (remember,
that diffraction at really small apertures can take away what you gain).

At
"normal" shooting distances the 70-180mm turns in a respectable
above-average performance. Wide open or fully stopped down at infinity
focus the lens is ever so slightly soft compared to the professional
telephoto zooms. At shorter focus distances or mid-range apertures,
the results are indistinguishable between this and other Nikon tele
zooms. To put it more concretely: the 70-180mm is a better lens than,
say, either of the 70-210mm lenses Nikon's produced, better than the
consumer 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6, and at least as good as the 70-300mm ED.
It's not as good as the 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S lens at 80mm and f/4.5 or
180mm and f/5.6, though. I've read reports from others that thought
this lens was too soft to be used as a normal telephoto zoom, but my
sample doesn't support that. Indeed, since I can't carry everything,
I've taken to leaving my 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S at home unless I know I
need it (for fast focus or bigger aperture).

The
bad news is not particularly bad. The smallish aperture does have an
impact on focusing speed, although the 70-180mm isn't the slowest lens
Nikon has produced in this range it's a long way from being the fastest.
Setting the limit switch makes for a big improvement, especially when
the lens is used for "normal" shooting: it may hunt in low-light
conditions, but it won't hunt far.

Teleconverters
Nikon recommends for this lens are the TC-201 and TC-14A. Personally,
I don't think the compromised results justify the use, but if you need
to extend the focal length in a pinch, these are the ones you'll want
to use.

Drawbacks

Autofocus
Speed. Slowish and tends to hunt in low light situations.
The limiter switch helps improve speed, but this lens isn't fast by
any stretch of the word.

No
1:1 magnification.
At 70mm, the lens barely qualifies as "macro," though at 180mm
the 1:1.33 is respectable. Still, if you want 1:1, you need to use one
of the fixed focal length Micro-Nikkors or supplement this lens with
a close-up lens or extension tube.

Positives

Excellent
Optics.
Macro work is sharp and high in contrast. Normal distances produce excellent
images, with only a bit of corner falloff wide open.

Macro
Convenience. It's easier to find critical framing and to quickly
set up macro work with this lens than it is with a fixed focal length
macro.

No
Aperture Change with Focus. As the focus is extended on the
fixed focal length Micro-Nikkors, the effective aperture changes; not
so with the this zoom lens, which retains aperture through the entire
focus range.

Highly
recommended; an excellent close-up lens for the enthusiast who only
ocassionally dips into macro land; plus it's a decent telephoto zoom.

featuresperformancebuildvalue

Unfortunately, no sooner had this review appeared and Nikon took the lens out of production. My glowing comments put a run on the remaining new copies and the lens was a sell-out within a week or two. You'll also note that few of us who have one will part with it, so these lenses are somewhat rare on the used market, too. If you get a chance to pick one up, don't dally on your decision: try it and buy it quickly or you'll find someone else beat you to it.